Overview
- Coordinated missions began Monday, with the exercise running November 16–27 at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base.
- The Indian contingent fields Su-30MKI fighters, with C-17 airlift for deployment and IL-78 tankers extending range and endurance.
- Planned sorties feature complex simulated air-to-air combat, air defence tasks, and coordinated strike missions.
- Officials say the drills aim to refine tactics in realistic conditions, enable mutual learning, and strengthen interoperability.
- The bilateral series, launched in 2003 and hosted alternately, returns to a base that houses two Rafale squadrons and France’s air test center.